This Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly was spotted on the Wilderness Trail |
Through the dedicated work of state park interpreters, Kentucky State Parks protect and preserve the cultural, historical, and natural beauty of Kentucky and provide quality recreation and interpretation programming for all ages.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Butterflies at Lake Barkley
This week at Lake Barkley we have seen an abundance of butterflies around the park. Over the past two years, Lake Barkley has been converting some of its landscaping to native wildflowers and those native plants seem to be attracting lots of butterflies. Tiger Swallowtails, Black Swallowtails, Spicebush Swallowtails, and Red Spotted Purples seem to be the most abundant this week and we have seen them visiting Butterfly Milkweed, Purple Coneflower, Blazingstar, and Buttonbush.
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butterflies,
Lake Barkley
Friday, July 26, 2013
The Personal Benefits of Parks by Michael J. Bradley
Since I was born and reared about six miles from the "Falls," this article brought back some childhood memories of my days at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. Even though it is not intentional, I think sometimes we take park opportunities like this for granted. I hope you will find this article refreshing and perhaps it will energize you to plan and visit one of our special Kentucky State Parks in the not-too-distant future.
Visit this link on "The Personal Benefits of Parks" by Michael J. Bradley
Thursday, July 4, 2013
July's Animal Profile- The Bald Eagle
Adult Bald Eagle (photo courtesy of Dr. Thomas Barnes) |
Bald Eagles are truly a magnificent animal to behold. Their large size makes them truly impressive. Despite their large size, they are very agile and able to dive for fish and other prey in the blink of an eye. An expert at using natural air currents, Eagles are able to stay aloft without flapping a wing and can hover in one spot for quite some time.
Until recently, Bald Eagles have been a rarity. For many years, Bald Eagles were on the brink of extinction as a result of DDT (an insecticide that worked its way into the food chain which caused birds of prey to lay eggs with shells too thin to support the weight of adults trying to incubate the eggs.) Although they have been removed from the Endangered Species List (which happened in 2007) seeing a Bald Eagle in many places is still not a common occurrence. They prefer living and nesting in areas near water with large trees to support the weight of their huge nests. Areas like this are in decline, making it difficult find suitable nesting areas.
Transient Bald Eagle here at the Breaks (photo courtesy of Roger Mayhorn) |
Bald Eagles remain a symbol of the United States still to this day. The very sight of a Bald Eagle is inspiring and reminds us of where we came from many years ago. Protection and conservation to help these birds are paramount to ensure that generations to come can see and appreciate the very symbol of freedom that was set by our Founding Fathers in 1787. Help conserve these animals so that they may enjoy the same freedom that we are privileged to enjoy. Happy 4th of July!
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Breaks Interstate
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